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Joe Carnahan Exits Bad Boys 3

We might have to wait a bit longer to see Martin Lawrence and Will Smith back on the beat in Bad Boys For Life (aka Bad Boys 3) as the long-gestating sequel has just lost its writer/director, Joe Carnahan.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the cause for Carnahan's exit is down to scheduling conflicts, and the filmmaker took to Twitter to confirm that was the only reason behind his decision.

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"Scheduling conflicts happen all the time. Frank Grillo & I started [production company] WarParty & we're building our company. There's no other story."

Carnahan recently announced he and actor Frank Grillo were developing a remake of The Raid, so it is safe to assume that Carnahan will now be able to give that project his full attention. Before you start thinking that The Raid remake will be some $100 million studio movie, Carnahan wants to assure fans that his version will keep things "down and dirty".

"We’re going to do this for under $20 million, which is about as down and dirty as you can get, but there’s no studio. It’s us. We’re not taking any money up front to do the movie. We’re going to take everything on the back. We’ll bet on ourselves. And if that doesn’t work and if that doesn’t satisfy people’s cynicism, then I got nothing else."

It's hard to argue with that level of commitment to the project, Carnahan and Grillo have no shortage of job offers (Carnahan is also writing the script for Uncharted), and it's admirable that they're trying to approach this remake the right way.

As for Bad Boys For Life, the exit of Carnahan almost certainly means another writer will be drafted in once the movie finds a new director. For now, there's no word on this latest setback causing yet another delay, but it at this stage it would hardly come as a surprise if that November 18, 2018, date gets shifted.